Sri Lanka booked their ticket to ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 as they registered their sixth consecutive win in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023, defeating the hosts’ Zimbabwe by 9 wickets today (02nd July) at Queen’s Sports Club in Bulawayo.
Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bowl first making one change to their playing XI. The young speedster Matheesha Pathirana replaced the injured Lahiru Kumara in Sri Lanka’s playing XI.
>>Lahiru Kumara ruled out from WC Qualifiers due to side strain
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana
Zimbabwe (Playing XI): Joylord Gumbie(w), Craig Ervine(c), Sean Williams, Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Wellington Masakadza, Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Sri Lanka made the toss count brilliantly, starting with Madushanka who picked up 3 wickets upfront in his opening spell.
Zimbabwe senior batting duo Williams and Raza then built a 68-run partnership to revive their innings, but Shanaka broke the stand with an innocuous delivery.
Then it was the Theekshana show, who bamboozled the likes of Williams, Burl and Zimbabwe low-order with a terrific spell. Sri Lanka knocked over Zimbabwe for 165 runs in just the 33rd over.
The run-chase was a walk in the park for Sri Lanka as the opening pair Karunaratne and Nissanka stitched together a match-winning century stand for the first wicket.
>>Sri Lanka beat Netherlands to move one step closer to World Cup Qualification
Nissanka went on to score his second century in ODIs, smashing 101 runs off 102 balls with 14 fours to his name. Sri Lanka cruised to the target within 33.1 overs with 9 wickets in hand.
Sri Lanka will take on the West Indies in their final game of the Super Six stage on Friday (7th July) at the Harare Sports Club Grounds.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joylord Gumbie | c Pathum Nissanka b Dilshan Madushanka | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Craig Ervine | c Kusal Mendis b Dilshan Madushanka | 14 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 107.69 |
| Wesly Madhevere | c Dasun Shanaka b Dilshan Madushanka | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Sean Williams | b Mahesh Theekshana | 56 | 57 | 6 | 1 | 98.25 |
| Sikandar Raza | c Dilshan Madushanka b Dasun Shanaka | 31 | 51 | 3 | 1 | 60.78 |
| Ryan Burl | b Mahesh Theekshana | 16 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 106.67 |
| Luke Jongwe | lbw b Mahesh Theekshana | 10 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Wellington Masakadza | not out | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 23.53 |
| Brad Evans | lbw b Matheesha Pathirana | 14 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 87.50 |
| Richard Ngarava | b Matheesha Pathirana | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Blessing Muzarabani | b Mahesh Theekshana | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 19 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 2, w 15, pen 0) |
| Total | 165/10 (32.2 Overs, RR: 5.1) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dilshan Madushanka | 5 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 3.00 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 5 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Mahesh Theekshana | 8.2 | 1 | 25 | 4 | 3.05 | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 3 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 6.00 | |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 7 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 5.43 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 4 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 9.25 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | not out | 101 | 102 | 14 | 0 | 99.02 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Brad Evans b Richard Ngarava | 30 | 56 | 2 | 0 | 53.57 |
| Kusal Mendis | not out | 25 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 59.52 |
| Extras | 13 (b 0 , lb 7 , nb 1, w 5, pen 0) |
| Total | 169/1 (33.1 Overs, RR: 5.1) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Ngarava | 7 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 5.00 | |
| Blessing Muzarabani | 8 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 3.50 | |
| Brad Evans | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 7.00 | |
| Sikandar Raza | 7 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 3.86 | |
| Ryan Burl | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7.50 | |
| Wellington Masakadza | 5.1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 5.69 | |
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